People Changed
by mokonapuu
Summary: my first fanfic ever. mostly about Umi-Clef. thankyou for reading :D
1. Chapter 1

disc: i do not own any characters of magic knight rayearth. the right fully belongs to CLAMP.

Chapter 1

Umi was awaken in shock. She threw a look towards the window. It was still gloomy dark out there. Tokyo had been having some crazy stormy nights, but she usually never scared of it. She, the Magic Knight of water, was the strongest, the toughest among the three of them, or so she thought. Stormy night and gloomy weather had never been able to scare her.

But here she was, sleepless in the middle of the night, trembling alone in her bedroom. She wouldn't be like this if not for that man. That old idiot mage. That stupid Clef.

Umi lifted her hands, turning the lamp on. She then took her small diary and opened it, threw a quick look at the calendar she had marked a week before. Tomorrow's date. It was when the summer holiday would begin, and Hikaru had begged for them to visit Cephiro to spend holiday. Umi smiled, remembering how cute Hikaru was.

"_Please, Umi-chan, Fuu-chan," Hikaru said that day. "Can't we go to Cephiro again? The summer holiday will begin soon, and I'll feel a little bit lonely without anything to do."_

"_Hikaru-san." It was Fuu's. "Won't you have task to do at the dojo? Besides, you're the main instructor there now."_

Hikaru's face blushed, and Umi couldn't help but giggled remembering how cute Hikaru when she blushed.

"_Onii-san can do it. besides, I kinda miss our friends in Cephiro."_

"_Our friends? You mean, that one particular person? Which one, Hikaru?" Umi teased the red-haired girl with no mercy. _

"_Umi-chan, I don't understand what do you mean," Hikaru denied, but on the contrary her face blushed more and more. It looked almost as red as her hair by now._

"_Don't you get sick of Cephiro, going there almost every week? And now you're telling us to spend our entire holiday there too?"_

"_Umi-chan, how could you say something like that?" Hikaru raised her face, looked straight towards Umi. "I'm the Pillar there. How could I get sick of a country I have to protect? And as the Magic Knight of water, you, of all people, must not say something like that."_

"_Ah, here we go again, with that Magic Knight things." Umi sighed._

"_Umi-san, I think Hikaru has her point," Fuu added. "I myself can't get sick of Cephiro even if I try to. Aren't you the same?"_

"_No, I'm not," Umi replied, too quick to make her answer sounded believable._

"_Are you seriously trying to say that you're getting sick of Cephiro?" Hikaru asked scarily, she looked like she's going to cry. _

"_No, that's not it, Hikaru-chan." Umi realized she's going too far with her words. She didn't mean to make Hikaru sad. "I mean, we're young normal girls, don't you think we have to spend more time on earth instead of going to Cephiro every weekend and holiday? Besides, it's not like I have someone in particular to see there."_

"_So it's not actually about Cephiro?" Fuu asked, a soft smile came to her lips. "It's about one particular person lives there, huh?"_

_Umi blushed, while Hikaru looked at her two friends confusedly._

"_Not really," Umi mumbled and looked down, realized how gloomy her face must be._

"_Don't throw any lies to me, Umi-san. I can read you crystal-clearly. What happened in our last visit to Cephiro?"_

"_Nothing happened," Umi said, still trying to act normally. But she knew that's no use, since like Fuu said, Fuu can read her. This was one thing she couldn't understand ever since their first met. Umi used to be known as a mature one between her friends, one to be adored for her calmness. But somehow, things happened vice versa from the first day she was summoned to Cephiro. She became this childish-and-sometimes-can-be-too-selfish girl, not to mention stubborn and reckless. Ha! No one ever called her so before!_

_But maybe it wasn't like she changed. Maybe it was more like she became just herself. She became just Umi. Not Umi the calm one, not Umi the had-to-look-mature one. Maybe that's why she could easily became best friends with these girls._

"_Umi-san?"_

_Fuu's voice took Umi back to reality. Umi raised her face only to see Fuu's eyes looked at her anxiously. "Can't you tell us what happened? I noticed you look low-spirited after our last visit there."_

"_No, it's really nothing." Umi smiled to convince the blonde-haired girl. She then looked at Hikaru. "Alright, you win. But if even after this visit you still have no progress towards Lantis, I won't agree to accompany you there again!" after said so Umi then threw her look back at Fuu. "The same with you and Ferio!"_

_And before Fuu could changed the topic, Hikaru said, "And with you and Guru Clef, I suppose?"_

"_Hikaru-san!" Fuu scolded Hikaru for not being so sensitive, but Umi just smiled. "Nothing happened between me and the Master Mage, Hikaru-chan."_

_Hikaru blinked, confusedly. "But didn't you—"_

"_Ah, it's getting dark," Fuu cut off Hikaru's words. "Let's go home."_

Umi can't helped herself but smiled again, remembering Hikaru's innocence and Fuu's caring. She looked at her diary. "It's alright," she said to herself. "Do it for Hikaru and Fuu. Besides, you can still spending time teasing Lafarga with Caldina. You can also meet Ascot. You don't have to meet him if you don't want to," she mumbled.

With that thought, Umi decided to get back to sleep. But not before she threw one of her pillows towards the nearest wall. "Stupid old sorcerer!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Clef lifted his head and threw a look to the window. The stormy night made him unable to concentrate on his book. He rose from his chair and walked towards the window.

_It's strange, _he thought to himself. Storms like this hadn't came to Cephiro in centuries. In his more-than-seven-centuries lifetime, he only saw this kind of storm once; that was when Princess Emeraude started to fall for Zagato.

_But it can't be! _That terrible thought made him shook his head._ Maybe it's just a storm. It's not some kind of bad omen, _he convinced himself. _You're thinking too much. Save yourself some rest, for Cephiro's sake!_

Right, maybe he was just too tired. Maybe it was nothing but an ordinary stormy weather. Cephiro changed. This world changed. People changed.

He lifted his now-bigger hand, looked at it seriously. So finally he can released himself from his old 10-years-old-like look, and looked more like a mature man. A smile came to his face when he imagined what would those three girls say if they discover this. That the 745 years old Madoshi now looked more like a man, even if the look still didn't actually matched his age.

He wondered what would Umi said, looked at his current look.

_People changed._

That words took him back to weeks ago, during those girls' last visit to Cephiro. It was when the storm started to haunt the nights in Cephiro.

_It was their last night before they went back to Earth. He was spending time in his study room as usual when Ascot came to him._

_That young boy surprised him, threw himself in like that without knocking. _

_Clef stood up, asked calmly what was so urgent for him to rush himself in like that, and got surprised when Ascot suddenly asked him how he feels about the Magic Knight of water._

_Clef raised his right eyebrow but stayed silent. He swung his staff, summoned a chair out of nowhere. After asked Ascot to sit, Clef sat back on his own chair._

_Ascot sat and repeat his question, to which Clef answered clearly, "The same with what I feel towards Hikaru and Fuu."_

_But by the time he said that, he knew something wasn't right with his words somehow. He himself didn't quite understand why, but his heart strangely ached when he burst that line._

_Ascot stared at him sharply for a while, for a reason Clef himself cannot understand. "Are you sure that's all?"_

"_I would never speak of something I am not sure about, and you must have known about it, Ascot. If I say that I feel indifference towards Umi, I mean it." _

_There. He felt it again. Like there was an unseen hand is grabbing his heart, it ached for no reason. He never felt this way before, so he couldn't really say what went wrong with him._

"_Alright then," Ascot stood up. "I won't disturb you any longer. Good night, Guru Clef." He bowed before the Master Mage._

_Clef nodded and swung his hand to open the door. That was when the calm night sky outside suddenly turned stormy. The rain fell hard, all so sudden._

_Little did he know about the storm, but of one thing he quite sure: the rain fell hard. Something happened with Umi._

"_Ah, Umi?"_

_Clef turned his head to Ascot's voice. "What happen?" he asked._

_Ascot shrugged his shoulder. "I don't know. I opened the door and she was standing here. But she ran away when I met her eyes."_

_Ascot closed the door from outside, left Clef hesitated in his study room. He didn't know what happened, but he couldn't stop worrying that girl. He decided to stood up and went outside, tried to look for her._

_He can sensed her aura from her room. It's dark blue tonight, somehow matched the stormy night outside. He knocked on her door before asking, "Umi? Are you there?"_

_He got no reply, but that girl was silly to think she can hide herself from him. He swung his hand to open the door and stepped in._

"_What happen?" he asked, his tone sounded cuddly soft. Even he himself got surprised hearing it._

_He got silence as an answer. This stubborn girl! He swung his hand again, unveil the soft blue blanket Umi used to cover herself._

_Umi sat up. Her face looked angry. "Don't you ever hear something called privacy?" she said._

"_I called you and got no answer, so I thought no one's here."_

"_That doesn't mean you can summon magic and get into my room anytime you like just because you think it's empty." That girl's irritated voice somehow sounded amusing to his ear._

"_And don't you ever again summon your magic to unveil my blanket like that!"_

_Was it just him, or Umi did blush for a moment?_

"_What happen?" Clef asked, decided to ignore that girl's protest._

"_Nothing happened! And I don't think I have to tell you, even if there IS something happened."_

"_You have to, actually, remembering it has something to do with Cephiro's weather."_

_Umi looked at him angrily for a while, and pulled up her blanket again. "Nothing, okay? Try to believe me for once, can you? Now I wanna continue sleeping, if you don't mind, Master Mage." She turned her back to Clef._

_He, the most powerful sorcerer in Cephiro, the calm one, almost emotionless. And now he found himself here, angered because of a spoiled young girl who didn't want to tell him her problem. He inhaled to calm himself. _

"_Fine," he said. But what surprised him was his tone, which sounded not calm at all. More like… furious?_

_He shook his head. That was impossible. He was just too tired. So he sighed, and swung his hand one more time, brought out a slot of violet-colored potion out of nowhere. He then put it on the desk next to Umi's bed. "It's the usual potion, in case you need it."_

_He heard nothing. Was that girl asleep already?_

_And before he realized it, he found himself lifted his hand, caress that girl's hair gently. "Good night, Umi," he whispered._

Reality struck his head. Why did he do that? Caress that girl's hair like that? Anyone seen him must had thought either he'd gone mad, or he'd fallen for the Magic Knight of water. But he knew best; that was impossible. His care towards that girl is the same with his other pupils, the same with the other two Magic Knights. No more, no less.

Then why did he feel lonely when that girl was nowhere to be found? Why did his head can't stop thinking of that pair of blue eyes? Why did he always look at that door, hoping for that reckless blue-haired to come like she always did in old days?

_People changed._

What did those word mean?

You've gone mad, Clef, he said to himself. You need to stop working all nights and get some more sleep. He sighed, shook his head, and went back to his chair, drowned himself in his never-ending work.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Disc: I do not own any characters, though I would love to save Clef for myself. :p_

"Umi-chan, Umi-chan!"

Umi turned around and found something quite surprising. It's Fuu, dressed cuter than her usual self. It was a green summer dress, with short bubbly sleeves and white lace as decoration. She also wore a cute summer straw hat, decorated with green ribbon matched her dress' color.

"It's quite unusual to see you in such outfit, miss Hououji," Umi said teasingly. It was quite interesting seeing the usually-calm Fuu blushed like that. The look was all for Ferio, Umi could say. Her eyes went soften.

"Ah, Hikaru-san," Fuu said suddenly. Umi turned and got surprised. Found Fuu dressed in a cute way was quite unusual, but Hikaru's looks was far beyond shocking. That cute little girl wore a dress too, something usually wasn't number one in her wardrobe list. Looked like she really put her effort in making progress with Lantis this time.

"Eh?" Hikaru looked at Umi confusedly.

"What happened, Hikaru?" Umi asked.

"I would like to ask Umi-chan the same question. What's with that look?"

Umi looked down on her own outfit. On the contrary to her friends, she wore a casual jeans and white t-shirts, added with a soft blue vest outside. She tied her long hair in a simple ponytail, and a white-and-blue sneakers to complete the look.

"Whoaa, Umi-san!" Fuu had just realized after Hikaru's question. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Umi shook her head and smiled. "So, shall we go now?"

Hikaru nodded, but Fuu looked at the blue-haired girl. Her face grew worried. That was just not the way Ryuuzaki Umi dressed. She had never been so ignorant with her looks before. She never tied her lovely long hair in a messy ponytail like that.

"Something's wrong, Fuu?" Umi's question interrupted her thoughts. "No, not really," Fuu answered, shaking her head to look more convincing. The questions can wait, Fuu said to herself.

"Let's go!" Hikaru told her friends. both Umi and Fuu nodded, and the three closed their eyes to concentrate and imagine the land of Cephiro. In a moment, the views around them changed, from the stiff and cold look of Tokyo's buildings to the wide blue skies and green floating mountains of Cephiro. As usual, the purple giant flying fish was already there, ready to catch them and took them to the castle of Cephiro.

Umi looked around, and felt glad that the land was still as beautiful as she could remember. She had come here many times, but the view of Cephiro never failed to amaze her, not even once.

"It's good to be back, Fyuula," Hikaru said happily while petted Fyuula lovingly. The giant fish cried out a happy sound, flew them with her maximum speed.

And finally, here they are. Umi stepped down from Fyuula and took a look of The Great Castle of Cephiro while holding her breath. The other two followed her, and Hikaru petted the purple giant fish one more time before Fyuula disappeared. Umi choked on realizing that it must be one thing: the owner of Fyuula had known of their arrival.

Before they can take another step, people of Cephiro they knew one by one appeared there, ready to welcome them to the castle. First was Ferio, with his signature big grin, stepped straight towards Fuu, caress the blonde's hair and kiss her forehead almost with no shame. His action made Fuu blushed.

"Gosh, Fuu, I really don't know what do you see from this shameful king," Umi joked. Ferio threw a look on her. "What? You want some kiss too, heh?" He asked jokingly.

"Uh, no thanks, I'll save my forehead for someone far better than just a big-teeth king with no shame."

Her comment made Ferio burst into a big laugh. "Ah, Hikaru!" He now looked on Hikaru, smiled widely. "You want some kiss from the king too?"

But before Ferio could lay his hand on Hikaru's head, Lantis suddenly came out of nowhere. "Save the sweet moment for later and let them take a rest, King Ferio," Lantis said with his usual calm voice which didn't matched his face expression at all. Ferio laughed out loud for the second time, realizing how the cold Lantis could easily became jealous when it comes to Hikaru.

"As you wish, General," he said teasingly. Ferio stepped back and let the others stepped closer to greeted their beloved Magic Knights. As he thoughts, Lantis walked straight to Hikaru, who waited for him with a big puppy smile.

There were Caldina and her Lafarga, Ascot, Presea, and Primera who got easily jealous looking at how Lantis looked at Hikaru. They laughed seeing the jealous Primera tried her best to come between the two lovers. Ah, maybe spending holiday here is not that bad, Umi thought to herself.

"Welcome, Magic Knights."

Umi laughed seeing the view of people she loved, but suddenly frozen by the time she heard that voice. Hesitantly, she lifted her face. Her heart sank looking at the Master Mage. He had grown taller just in few weeks, but somehow looked even breath-taking than before, at least for Umi. But she would never let him know how great the effect he had towards her just by his presence. No, Umi better went die than had to show Clef her feelings. He thought of her only as a Magic Knight, after all.

"Guru Clef!" Hikaru turned her look from Lantis and got surprised with Clef's new look. She ran towards him to wowed the now-not-so-10-years-old-look of the Master Mage.

"How could? Aren't we just parted for weeks? How could you have grown so much taller in very short time, while I only gained no more than five centimeters in years?" she mumbled enviously. Her words sent Clef into laugh.

"I myself don't really understand, but then again, Cephiro is a land of will." The Madoshi smiled softly.

"You mean you grew taller because you want to? Then why now? Why don't you ask for it long time ago?" Hikaru looked around and step closer, whisper jokingly to Clef's ear, "If you did that sooner before Lantis came, I pretty sure I'd choose you instead."

Clef had to hold himself from laughing, but he can't help himself grinning. Lantis looked irritated. "Hikaru, in case you might not know yet, my ear is… quite good," he said blushingly. Hikaru gasped and turned to him quickly. "Really? Lantis, I was just joking," she said. She didn't want Lantis to be mad at her.

Clef smiled and whispered back to Hikaru, "Don't worry. He's just jealous."

"Really?" Hikaru looked at Clef seriously.

"Madoshi!" Lantis yelled desperately, while the others can't held their laughter any longer. Everyone's bursting into laugh. Everyone but Umi. Clef noticed, but before he could say anything, Caldina had grasped the blue-haired, asking whether she's fine.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little tired, I'm sure I'll be alright once I get some sleep," Umi calmed her.

"Parted for weeks and now suddenly you became a sleepyhead, Ryuuzaki?" Ferio teased her.

"Oh, shut up, you," Umi smiled to him. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go to my room now."

The others nodded, while Hikaru and Fuu stepped closer to her. "Do you want us to accompany you?"

Umi shook her head. "No need, Hikaru. I'll be just fine."

"Then we'll come to your room shortly," Fuu added. Umi nodded. "I'll be waiting for you two, but no need to rush yourself, okay?"

The two nodded, and Umi excuse herself. She walked pass Clef at the entrance of the castle, and lowered her head a little without stopping.

Clef turned and looked at the girl's back confusedly. What went wrong with her, for Cephiro's sake?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_disc: i really want to say i own Clef, but... *sigh* they belong to Clamp, anyway._

* * *

><p>"Umi."<p>

Umi raised her head and saw Ascot stood at the door, smiled widely to her. "May I join you?"

Umi said nothing, but slid herself aside. Ascot's smile grew wider and joined Umi at the garden. "You were not yourself today. Something's wrong?"

Umi laughed and threw a soft look at the brown-haired boy. "Why are you always so adorable, Ascot?" she asked, more to herself than to Ascot.

"What you call adorable, most people called it weird. I'm befriended with beasts, I summon magic, and I spent years chained in a body of a little boy."

Umi laughed again, more lightly this time. "I know someone who also spent years chained in a body of a little boy, but so far I can remember, no one called him weird. Well, at least not right under his nose."

Ascot burst into laughter, almost hysterically. His laughing face made Umi felt more relaxed. She looked back at the beautiful flowers. "When did he change his look?"

Ascot looked at the face of the girl he'd always loved. "Umi dear, I think rather than saying he changed the look, it's more like his look that changed. I don't really know when did it happen, nor I can tell why, but it was shortly after your last visit here."

"Hmm.." Umi said nothing.

"And?"

"What?" Umi looked puzzled.

"C'mon Umi, there's something bothered you. What went wrong?"

The blue-haired girl shook her head, but her smile couldn't reach her blue eyes. "It's just, seeing him again after heard those words felt… hurts. My heart ached every time I looked at him, knowing I have no possibilities of him loving me back. Ah…" She turned and looked at Ascot, regretting her words. What did she just say? How could she told him that? She didn't dare to imagine how was that boy feeling.

"It's alright, Umi," Ascot smiled understandingly. "No need to feel sorry. I love you, that's right, and it's an unrequited love, of that I also understand well. That doesn't mean we can't be friends. just tell me anything as you did before. Even if I'm not the one your heart choose, I still hope I can be useful to you. At least by doing so, and knowing that you are happy, I can feel relieved and I won't feel like a loser ass."

"You can never be a loser ass. Not even if you tried. You're too good-hearted to be one. I am the one who should feel like one, turned down a wonderful person like you," Umi muttered. "I'm really sorry, Ascott—"

"Now you're starting to make me feel like a loser ass, dear. I've told you not to be bothered with my feelings, haven't I?"

Ascot smiled again, persuaded Umi to do the same. She sighed and rest her head on his shoulder. "You're not a loser ass, and neither you nor your feelings ever bother me. Maybe I cannot love you the same way you love me, but having you around is probably one of the things I love the most here in Cephiro."

"You're tired. Take a short rest." Ascot caressed Umi's long silky blue hair and planted a kiss on her forehead.

* * *

><p>It was almost midnight, but Clef still wandered around the castle. He couldn't sleep. Umi's strange behavior towards him before puzzled him. What happened with that girl? He just met her today after weeks. What did he do to cause her anger? Nothing! That girl just looked at him for about five seconds, and that's it. what kind of fault could he possibly did in only five seconds? Not that he usually did something to make her furious. It was her who always at fault every time they argued. It was her who always so reckless, so difficult, so stubborn, so childish, so trouble-magnet, so… so lovable. So caring. Yet so warm-hearted.<p>

Clef shook his head in shock. What were he thinking just now? It was the Magic Knight whom he was thinking of! He was supposed to act indifferently towards each of them, yet still had to take good care of them. He had no right to treat any of them more special than the others.

He sighed. He didn't understand what went wrong with his mind. Maybe spending some time in the garden will be good, he thought.

But as his step reached the garden entrance, he stopped. He gasped for seeing the view that's offered to him: those were Umi and Ascot, sat side by side, with Umi's head laid on his shoulder, and his hand gently caress that beautiful long blue hair of hers.

But it was nothing to be compared with the next scene. The sight of Ascot softly planted a kiss in the Water Knight's forehead froze the Master Mage. He couldn't move nor breathe. And the pain he felt before came again, only this time the pain was stronger than before. His heart ached though he couldn't understand the reason.

The sound of sudden storm outside distracted him. He looked at the glass roof above. Ah, it's another stormy night tonight, he thought. Somehow matched his feeling.

He shook his head again, desperately this time. Matched his feeling? He must had gone mad! He silently stepped back before the two noticed his presence.

Once he's outside, he leaned against the wall and held his chest. The pain was getting stronger. He felt like some unseen hands were choking his throat, caused him unable to breathe. He patted his chest, hoping that would made the pain better.

What was happening with him? He rubbed his forehead. Tighten the grasp on his staff, he started to walk to his study room. You can stay here all night patting your chest, or start doing your work, he yelled at himself.

* * *

><p>Umi stood before the study room's door, unable to decide whether she would knock or not. Clef surely had noticed something was wrong with her behavior earlier today.<p>

_Tried to act normally, _she remembered Ascot told her so at the garden before. _If you decided not to let him get a slightest hint of your feelings towards him, tried to act normally. Even I don't really think that's the best solution to take, if I may say._

She didn't understand Ascot's last line, but she agreed to try to act normally. If Clef really thought of her only as one of the Magic Knights, she wouldn't let him knpw anything she felt.

She inhaled a deep breath, and after hesitated a little, finally lifted her hand to knock.

"Who?" Hearing Clef's sound came from inside made her heart beat twice faster than usual. She didn't need any mirror to know her face blushed. After inhaled deeply twice, she decided to answer. "It's me, Clef. Umi."

The door opened, revealed a dark room belonged to Clef. Usually moonlight radiance would fell softly through the window, but the storm had made it impossible. The only light in the room came from a candle stood near Clef, showed a glimpse of the opened book he was currently reading.

Clef took a quick look to Umi before continued his reading. "How can I help?" He asked without raised his head.

His voice sounded as cold as ice. Hearing it made Umi's heart ached. _Act normally, _she thought to herself. _Apologize for your strange behavior earlier and ask for a potion like usual._

"Can I come in, Clef?"

Clef let out a sigh and finally returned his gaze to her. "Come," he called, and summoned a chair for the Water Knight.

"What is it?" Clef asked her, but his voice still sounded as cold as before. Umi swallowed. He was angry, that was crystal-clear. "I want to apologize for earlier," Umi encouraged herself to speak.

Clef said nothing at first. The Master Mage put a deep gaze at Umi's face, but his expression Umi couldn't read.

"You did nothing wrong," he finally found his voice. "Anything else?"

Umi bit her bottom lips and nodded after hesitated for a moment. "I can't sleep, so I think maybe I can have the potion you used to give me before."

Clef can't help himself. He released a little sigh, his gaze towards her went softer. "Do you have any problems, Umi? Would it help if you tell me?"

Umi shook her head. "The—there's nothing wrong, so you really don't have to worry." Hah, as if he would worry, she thought to herself. Your feelings are unrequited, Umi, so stop daydreaming.

She then looked at the opened book Clef was reading, illuminated by only a single candle. "You must not read with no proper lights, or else you'll end up with glasses." Umi giggled imagining the Madoshi wearing glasses like Fuu.

Umi looked back at Clef, who now closed his book, a little smile came to his face. Umi's heart beat faster. Damn him as his smile, Umi cursed. Thank Gods he still sat on his chair, left enough space for Umi to breathe.

But to her surprise, Clef raised his body and walked to her, kneeled before the girl. He never kneeled before, not with his 10 years old like body. The thought almost made Umi giggled, but she tried her best to stay silent, curious of Clef's next move.

The Master Mage never failed to surprise her. He then cupped Umi's cheek with his right hand. His gaze went even deeper by now, his face grew worried. His hand felt so warm, his gesture almost made Umi's heart jumped out.

Umi stole a quick glance to the window. The storm had gone calmer, and the clouds had faded, allowed the moonlight fell through the window, illuminated the now not so dark room.

It was perfect, everything was perfect, Umi thought. The room illuminated by the moonlight, with Clef kneeled before her, cupped her cheek, gazed at her deeply. Umi would wished nothing but this moment to stay longer if only…

If only.

But it was not perfect, Umi scolded herself inside. It lacked of one thing. One BIG thing: Clef didn't feel the same way as hers.

So before Clef said anything, Umi had pulled herself. Her face blushed, she was glad the room was so dark it's impossible for Clef to realize her reaction.

"The—the potion," she repeated. Clef's eyes widened, and he stood up. He lifted his hands and snapped his fingers, and a bottle of red potion came out of nowhere. He gave it to Umi, and with a disappointed expression he tried to hide, he sat back on his chair. He swung his hand to open the door, and Umi gazed at him, realized that's her sign to leave.

'Good night, Clef," she muttered gloomily at the door. "Don't work too hard. You should let yourself have some rest," she added before closed the door.

In his study room, Clef lifted his right hand and planted a deep look at it. the warmth of Umi's soft cheek was still there, he can still felt it. he didn't know why he did what he had done, but he just couldn't helped it. He then put in on his chest, realized his heart beat is faster than usual, but that the earlier pain had gone.

He shook his head in frustration. This cannot be.


	5. Chapter 5

OMATASE SHIMASHITA!

i'm really sorry for the long wait. *bowed*

disc: i don't have any of the characters-except for the _new man_, of course. :p

it's all CLAMPS's.

anyway. enjoy! write me a review, i'll owe you a huge thanks! hehe~

Chapter 5

_It was nothing but darkness. Umi looked around, hoping to find something, see something, but she got nothing. She can't see anything but darkness. Where were Fuu and Hikaru?_

_Choked, she tried her best not to shed tears. She was in Cephiro last night, laid down on her comfortable bed, wore her long turquoise night gown. How did she get here? She raised a hand, touched her chest, and realized the night gown was now replaced with the armor Presea made._

"_Thou…left me. Abandon me."_

_She gasped at the sound of that deep voice. It was Selece's. she raised her face, tried to look where the voice came from._

"_Se—Selece?" she called. After a moment of silence, the sound came again in a laughter._

"_Thou no longer recognize my voice?"_

_Umi shook her head in panic. "Of course I know it was your voice, Selece! I never left you, and never will! You know that!"_

"_I can't find my old donner anymore," the voice replied._

"_Selece, it's me, Umi. I'm still the same old Umi, can't you feel it?" the water knight almost cried in desperation. She waited for answer, but the voice had gone._

"_Selece!" she screamed her lungs out. "Selece!"_

* * *

><p>Umi opened her eyes in shock.<em> It's a dream, <em>she thought to herself. It was just a dream, thank God. Of course, Selece would never leave her. She looked at the window, at the morning sky of Cephiro. She closed her eyes and concentrated, smiling when she heard the sound of Selece's ocean's wave.

Though after the last battle Mokona went with the three Rune Gods and hadn't came back up until now, she somehow felt that they were never left. She could still feel the refreshing breeze of Windam, she could still see the great volcano of Rayearth. She still could hear the sound of Selece's ocean.

They never left.

Umi stretched her hands and inhaled a deep breath.

"Good morning, Cephiro," she smiled.

She returned her gaze towards the window. The sky of Cephiro that morning was all sunny and bright. There was no dark cloud at all, unlike last night.

Last night.

Her mind flew back to what happened in Clef's study room last night, but although at first her cheeks blushed, she soon got even sadder than before. Clef only did what he did last night because she was her precious Magic Knight. She wondered how would he act towards her if she was an ordinary people.

If you were an ordinary people, you wouldn't even meet him in the first place, silly, a voice in her head told her.

She laughed a little before someone knocked her door.

"Umi-chan?"

It was Hikaru. Umi smiled and closed her eyes, and in a blink of an eye, her silk turquoise sleep gown had changed into a simple cyan sleeveless knee-length dress. Another benefit of staying in a land of will, she grinned to herself.

"Coming, Hikaru," she answered as she walked through the door.

"Not another boring ponytail!" Hikaru muttered when Umi finally opened her door.

"What's wrong with ponytail?" Umi asked.

"On another people? Nothing. But on the Ryuuzaki Umi? Ponytail screams so many wrong thing."

"Oh, stop it," Umi laughed. "Where's Fuu?"

"Ferio already took her to get some breakfast, so I'm here to get you instead." The red-haired girl grabbed Umi's hand. "Let's go," she said with a wide smile.

* * *

><p>The atmosphere in the grand dining room was the weirdest Umi had encountered ever since her first visit to Cephiro. Her thought maybe invalid for the others, so far she could see, as Ferio and Fuu were still talking in some lovey-dovey atmosphere, and Hikaru and Lantis looked drowned in their own awkward but kinda cute world-of-two. The weird atmosphere was more about her and Clef.<p>

"Did you sleep well?" the Master Mage asked her. Must be out of politeness, she murmured to herself, but she nodded anyway. "The potion worked as well as usual," she added.

"Oh." She stole a glance towards Clef, who was looking at her with a thin smile on his face. When their gaze met, the two quickly threw their eyes into another direction.

This is ridiculous, she thought. She couldn't always avoid him during her visit this time, but she couldn't help herself. Clef's action last night kept appearing in her head. She needed to go somewhere to distract her mind from him.

She nodded to herself and rose herself off the chair. The other five looked at her.

"Umi san?" said Fuu, confusedly.

"You guys finish your breakfast. I want to walk around."

"Where?"

Umi looked at the owner of that voice. Clef was looking at her, his face looked worried. "Just… around," she answered, forcing herself to smile.

"Do you want me to accompany you?"

Her smile grew wider. "No need for that. I can guard myself pretty well. Besides, I don't think there's anything to worry about."

Clef planted his deep gaze at her for a while, but finally nodded. "Very well, then," he finally said.

"What happen with her?" Ferio broke the silence after Umi left the room. He looked at Fuu, but the blond-haired girl shrugged her shoulder. "I have no idea," she answered with a worried expression.

"She said nothing when I came to her room this morning," Hikaru mumbled with a confused tone. "You know something about this, Clef?"

Clef was surprised with Hikaru's blunt question, but honestly shook his head. "I'm as confused as any of you in this room," he answered and rose himself off his chair. The other four turned their eyes at him.

"I'll excuse myself for now. I'll be in my study room if you need me," he said, then left the grand dining room.

* * *

><p>"Stupid girl," said Umi to herself while walking. She had been walking for about an hour by now, long enough to realize how ridiculous her action must be in her friends' eyes. In Clef's eyes. Why did she have to rush from the grand dining room like she did earlier? Now Clef would think that she did that to avoid him. Not that it wasn't true, but what's the benefit of him knowing that? It wasn't like he cared for her in the same way as she did.<p>

She let out a heavy sigh and raised her face. Goodness, she was so lost in her mind she didn't even realize that she walked into the Forest of Silence. She had to go back. She knew there was nothing to worry about here. Even if she would meet a monster, it must be one of Ascott's friends. But somehow her feelings told her that walking around the Forest wasn't the best thing to do today.

A cracked sound made her gasped. She raised her hand, but soon remembered she wouldn't be able to call her Mashin. Ever since the Rune Gods had been gone with Mokona, no one could tell when they would be back. Not even Clef. _They will be back when Cephiro needs them,_ that was the only thing Clef could tell.

_It's alright,_ she hushed herself. _It's only one of Ascott's _unusual_ friends. there's nothing to worry about._ While telling it to herself, Umi sharpen her ear and looked around.

Another cracked sound was heard. She turned in a quick move. There was nothing there, but she could see a flash of shadow from the corner of her eyes.

"Who's there? Show me yourself!" she commanded. She might be unable to call Selece, but she could still knock someon down.

Yeah, let's hope it's really a _someone _and not a _something, _Umi, she muttered to herself.

The shadow moved further into the forest. Umi hesitated for a while, then decided to feed her curiosity and chased it. _nothing to worry about,_ she reminded herself once more.

"Wait! Who are you? Show me yourself!" she exclaimed. _I must be crazy, _she thought to herself. What kind of normal person would spend her time chasing a shadow in the forest like her?

"Wait!" she yelled again. That shadow, whoever—whatever he, she, it, was, was so fast. She would soon lose her breath if that shadow didn't stop.

But then the shadow stopped, as if it heard Umi's thought. _Finally,_ she thought. After gasped for a moment, she lifted her face. "Who are you?"

She waited for an answer, but there was nothing to be heard. She was already opened her mouth to exclaim another command when the mysterious shadow finally showed itself. Himself, to be exact.

Pillar, she shocked in awe.

It was a man.


End file.
